Shoe sole leveling, shaping, and securing unit



7 Oct. 9, 1934. e. LAGANAS SHOE SOLELEVELING, SHAPING, AND BECURING UNIT Filed Jan. 18, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 9, 1934. G. LAGANAS 7 1,976,670

SHOE SOLE LEVELING, SHAPING, AND SECURING UNIT Filed Jan. 18, 1935 5 Sheet-Sheet 2 y Oct. 9, 1934. LAGANAS 1,976,670

SHOE SOLE LEVELING, SHAPING, AND SECURING UNIT Filed Jan. 18, 1933 5 Sheet sSheet"3 Patented Oct. 9, 1934 SHOE SOLE res are? or ies LEVELING, SHAPING, AND snoonmo. UNIT i George Laga'nas, Lowell, Mass.

Application January 18, 1933, SerialNo. 652,390

2 Claims. (01. 12 33),

This invention relates to a shoe sole leveling,

shaping and securing unit, and has for its object to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a unit of the class referred to, operated from a continuous supply expeditiously and simultaneou of compressed air for sly leveling, shaping and securing a shoe sole having a cementitious coating, to an upper position on a working last by the application to the sole for a substantial period of a continuous sure derived from an open co ply, thereby resulting in the building up presmpressed air supsole being formed with a permanent bend and curve to conform to that of the last and for securing of the upper and sole in fixed relation with respect to each other.

A further object of the invention is to provide, ina manner as hereinafter set forth, a unit of the class referred to whereby taneously leveled and shaped i the sole is simuln unison with the securing of it to a shoe upper mounted on its original working last, under such conditions providing for increased production and a materialv decrease in the cost of labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide,

in a manner as hereinafter set securing unit capable of being usedin connection with'the manufacture of.

eling, shaping and all types of shoes.

vide, in a manner forth, a sole lev- A further ob ect of the invention is to pro as hereinafter set forth, aunit for the purpose referred to whereby it does not necessitate in its use, ing shaping and to accomplish a sole level securing operation, the employment of separate iron beating out formsor lasts, as is lasts for different .Furtherobjects of vide, in, a manner as leveling, shaping and securing unit which is its construction, strong,-

efi'icient in its use,.

comparatively simple in durable, compact, thoroughly readily'assembled and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

. To the above ends. essentially, and; to others which may hereinafter 'be set forth,,the invention consists of such parts, parts which fall'within tion as claimed.

The unit includes a clamping element and such combination of the scope ofthe invenpresser element and acoacting to provide a'simulta' neous. leveling, shaping and securing action on the'sole. The unit is shown, ple as: supported upon a. revo by way of examluble carrier having a compressed air conducting meansleading to the presser element, means for opening the presser element to the atmosphere, and means for releasing the clamping element. It. is to be understood that the unit can be mounted upon any suitable support therefor andthat means other than that as shown and hereinafter referred to maybe employedto open the presser element to the atmosphere and to release the clamping element.- It is to be further understood 5, that'the presser element can be opened to the atmosphere manually and the clamping element released manually if: desired after the activity of the unit for a desired period.

In the drawings: Y Figure l is a side elevation of the-unit mounted on a supporting means, the latter being shown in section. v e p Figure 2 is a topplan view of the compressed air operated presser element of the unit. Figure 3 is a sectional detail illustrating the controlling valve for the presser element. Figure 4 is a side-elevation of the unit mounted. upon a supporting means and with the latter and presser element in section. a t

Figure 5 is a'sectional elevationof the clamping element looking towards the front of the latter and with the element mounted ona supports Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in front eleva-. tion of l a revoluble carrierhaving the unit mount-. ed thereon. v

Figure -'I is a frag-m ntary View in cross section of the clamping element illustrating the shoe upper clamping or abutment member; Figure 8 is a fragmentary view in cross section of the clamping element showing the last clampingor abutment member. 7 Y t Figure 9 isa perspective view of the locking lever of the clamping elementand further show ing in perspective a shifting means for the leverQ' Figure 10 is a detail in side elevationil-lustratingthe-shoe upper clamp-or abutment. 7

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the shoe upper clamp or'abutment disassembled. 'I; Figure 12' is a perspective view of the latching: member for the'sections of the shoe upper clamp or abutment. s. f 1.: Figure 13 is a front elevation of afsupportfo'rme ing apart. I 1 The unit forming the subject of, this application isof the same construction as that'disclosedi in my application Serial Number 635,708, filed. SEQ-,3 tember30, 1932. l The unit includes a compressed. air operatedpresser element and a clamping element indie Unent bend and curve conforming to that of the The element 1 comprises a cup-shaped body portion 5 of substantially oval contour in plan of the desired depth and having a low part 6, an

upwardly extending curved intermediate part 7 and an inwardly inclined high part 8. Integral with and flush with edge of body portion 5 is an outwardly extending flat endless flange 9 of greater width than the Width of said top edge.

The outer end of the bottom of high part 8 is formed with an opening 10 for a purpose to be referred to.

Seated on the flange 9 may be one or a plurality of superposed washers of like form, but one being shown and indicated at 11. The washer is coextensive with flange 9. Mounted on the washer 11 is a presser member 12 formed of a plurality of superposed plies of resilient material. The member 12 conforms in contour to that of the body portion 5 in plan and has its edge flush with the. outer edge of washer 11. Mounted on the marginal portion of the outer face of member 12 may be one or more washers, but one being shown and indicated at 13. The washer 13 conforms in contour to that of washer 11 and is flush with the outer edge of member 12. Seated upon washer 13 and of the same width as that of the latter isja metallic band 14'conforming in contour to that of flange 9. The upper face of band 14 is formed with parallel spaced endless ribs 15. The inner edges of washers 11, 13 and band 14 are flush with the inner faces of the sides and ends of'body portion 5. The body portion 5 in connection with washer 11 and member 12 provides a compressed air receiving chamber. 16. The flange:

9, washers 11, 13, memberl2 and band 14 are secured together by spaced holdfast devices 17. The member 12 forms the top wall of chamber 16 and-is adapted to have thew'ork to be acted upon seated thereon, the'work being the sole having in superimposed relation thereto the working last carrying the shoe upper. The member 12 is of greater width and length than that of the work andis formed with a lower part 18, an intermediate'upwardly extending curved part 19 and a high'part 20.

The opening 10 is adapted to have secured therein a compressed air supplyand exhaust controlling means referred to generally at 21'. The said means includes: a pipe section 22 which has one end secured to the wall of opening 10 and a permanently communicates with chamber 16,. a

valve housing 23 having ports 24, 25' and 26, nipples 27, 28'and 29 into which respectively open theports 24," 25 and 26, a rotatable valve 30 arranged in housing 23 and formed with a diametrically extending channel 31 common to ports 24'," 25 and 26', a channel 32 extending from channel 31 and associated with port 24, a valve stem 33 extended at one end from one end of housing 23, a handle 34 carried by the extendedend of stem 33'for shifting the valve 30 clockwise and anti cloc kw'ise, and section 22 extends into and i'ssecured '27. The pipe section 35 extends into and is se-.-

a pipe section 35. The pipe to nipple cured to nipple 28 and is adapted to have a source ""1 of compressed air coupled thereto. Preferably pipe section 35 will be in the form of an L having its smaller leg attached to nipple 28.

When channel 31 registers with ports 24, 25 the chamber 16 is to open to a continuous supply of compressed air whereby a continuous pressure will be built up in said chamber against member 12 for the purpose of applying a leveling, shaping and securing actionof the sole. When channel 32 registers with port 24, ports 24, 25 are closed to each other and port 26 registers with one end of channel 31 whereby the compressed air supply is cut ofi and chamber 16 exhausts to the atmosphere. The port 26 and nipple 29 provide an exhaust for housing 23. The port 24 provides a combined intake and exhaust port "for chamber 16. The port 25 constitutes an air intake for housing 23.

The element 1 may be anchored stationary to a support therefor by any suitable means, and by way of example there is shown a pair of oppositely disposed angle-shaped lugs 35', 36 depending from the low and high parts 6, 8 respectively of body portion 5. The lug 35 is adapted to interenga'ge with the support and t 'e lug 36 fixed to the support by a holdfast means. It is to be understood that the lugs may be dispensed with and that any suitable means to maintain element 1 stationary may be employed.

The clamping element2 comprises a pivoted. spring controlled hanger 37in the form ofia bar of the desired length and formed withan enlarged outer end 38 formed with a transverse opening 39. The hanger 37 has depending therefrom at its outer end 2. lug 40 and rearwardly and in'proximity to its vertical median a depending lug 41. disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of the hanger 37, is a cross head 42, having reduced outerv ends 43, upon which are pivo'tally mounted the upper ends of a pair of parallel spaced latching members 44 of like form. The

upper ends of members 44 are retained on the outer ends 43 of the cross head 42 by cotter pins 45. Each latching member is in the form of an angle-shaped link formed of an' upper and a lower oppositely legs 46, 47 having'a curved portion 48 interposed therebetween. The'leg 46is of a greater length and its inclination is less than'that of;leg 47. The body portion 5 of the presser element is positioned between the members 44 and above the legs 47. Themembers function to hold down and to elevate the outer end of hanger 37. a

The cross head 42 at the vertical center'thereof isprovided with an'openin'g 49havingthe wall thereof threaded and engaging with-said-wall is a set nut 52 for; arresting verticalmovement of the cross head. I W a Y Overlapping the hanger 37 approximately centrally thereof is a holder 53, of inverted U-shap,

having the sides 54"thereof formed with rear- Wardy disposed offset extensions 55 providedwith" lateral lugs 56. The top 57. of holder 53 has'a Extending through the opening 39 and inclined downwardly directed the top and bottom wane The device extends vertical opening. 58,. through which extends" an adjusting device 59 having threadedengagement with the wall of a verticalopening 60 formed in hanger-37 whereby the latter isadjustablycon; nected to the holder 53. lock nut 61.

The device 59 carries .a. The rear end ofhanger 37- has. anchored thereto the upper ends of apair of controlling springs 62-. The lower ends-of the latter areto be anchored to-the'shpport for element -1 and one example of anchoring the lower ends of said springs will be hereinafter set'-forthv"I'l 1e device :59 functions to adjust hanger 37 "relative to holder 53 and for contrelling theiipward move ment and angular disposition of hanger 3'7 with respectto a pair of uprightstobe referred to. i

The holder 53 is pivotally mounted through the medium of the lugs-56 being mountedin a pair of oppositely disposedspaced-uprights or arms 63. Each of the latter has an inset-upperportion 64 terminating in an enlarged centrally apertured upper portion 65 f The lower end'of eachupright is anchored stationaryfand byway of example the lower end of each upright is of; annular form and consisting of a pair of semicircular sections 66. When the uprights have annular lower ends, such ends 'are adapted to encompass a bar 67 or other support and be fixedly secured to the latter by holdfast means 68 which couple the sections of the lower end of each up-- right together. It is to be understood that the uprights may be formed inany' suitablemannerfor the purpose of anchoring them'stationary to a support; and that the means as shown is illus'- trated by way of example.

Rotatably mounted in the hangers 40, 41 is an adjusting member '70 for a pair of clamping, members or abutments '71, 72 to be referred to.

The member 70 is in the form of around bar provided with a of threads, one

when member'IO is rotated, to adjust them to the rotation thereof;

The clamping member 71 is to abut or clamp against the forepart of the upper 3 on last '4 and comprises a pair of interengaging sections: '76, '7'7 and a latching member'78 forc'oupling the sections together. The section 76 is bifurcated as at '79 and has one of the walls of the furcation transversely grooved, as at 80. The section '76 is of rectangular contour and provided near its top with an opening 81 for the passage ofmember '70. The opening 81 extends from the front to the rear side edge of section 76 and has its wall threaded for engagement with the threads '73 of member 70. The section '77 includes a shank 82 carrying a head 83 of oval-shape contour in lengthwise section. The head 83 has its bearing face covered by a strip 84 of cushioning material. The rear face of shank 82 has a transverse groove 85 adaptedto register with groove to form a circular opening for the passage of the latching member '78, the latter being of greater length than the width of section '16, 77 and projects from the side edge of the latter. The member 78 comprises a bar 86 of circular cross section having a part of one side cut-away .to form a flat surface 8'? aligning with the axis of the bar. One end of the latter is enlarged, as at 88 and carries a finger piece 89 to facilitate the shifting of member 78 when extended through the circular passage. The other end of bar 86 carries a retaining pin 90. When the circular part of bar 86 is in grooves 80, the sections '76, 77 are detachably connected together. By rotating bar 86 so that surface 87 will oppose either opening 80, 85, the section 77 can be removed from section '76.

pair or spaced'groups 73, '74- group' being left and the other right hand threads,- which engage with said clamping members or abutments for 'shiftingthem relatively towards and from eachother;

Iower face of member inclines upwardly from front to ream] 1 V I -Thel'o'wer ends of the'l'at'ching members 44 are pivotally' connected to the outer end of a locking lever 96, and the -latter comprises a tapered body part '97 provided at its outer end with' 'a pair of spaced collars 98 to which the lower ends of members 44 are-pivotally connected, as at 99 The inner end of lever 96 is formed with a pair of spaced sleeves 100 for pivotally mounting on a bar, support or shaft 108. When lever 96 is swung outwardly with respect to support 108 the members44 are carried therewith thereby lowering the hanger 37and to position members '71, 72 against the work and last respectivelyr When members 44 are moved outwardly by thelever 96 to an extent whereby such members are off center, such as shown in Figure 1, due to the lower end of lever 96 being extended outwardly beyond support l08 the clamping element 2 is inactive position to maintain the work in fixed position on element 1'-during the opera.- tion of the latter to provide a sole leveling, shaping and securing position. The locking 'of the clamping element 2 in active position is had against the action of thesp'rings 62, thelatter also [assisting in elev'ating the front end of hanger 3'7 when element 2 is released fromits' locke'dset position. Theshifting of element 1 to a position to hold the work -ishad manually by pullingdown the outer'e'ndof hanger 37. The clamping element 2 can be released manually by shifting the outer end of level 96 inwardly} andit can also'be released automaticallyif the unit is mounted in a revolving carrier, and the manner in which the automatic unlocking of element 2 can be had will be presently referred to.

After the clamping element 2 has been moved to a position to maintain the work on the pressing element 1, the handle 34 is shifted to open the continuous compressed air supply to chamber 16 for the purpose of building up a continuous pressure on member 12 to perform the sole leveling, shaping and securing operation. The shutting, off of the compressed air to chamber 16 and opening the latter to the atmosphere can be had manually, or if the unit is mounted on a revoluble carrier the shutting off of the air supply and the opening of the chamber 16 to the atmosphere can be had automatically, and the manner in which the automatic action can be had will be presently referred to. It is to be understood that the unlocking of the clamping element 2 and opening to the atmosphere of the presser element parts of; a revoluble carrier, such asshown in my application aforesaid and no claim is made herein to anyof the features of the carrier, as the invention in. this application relates'solely tothe unit. The carrier, includes a pair of bodily revoluble discs 102 for mo ving in unison. Stay rods,:,only one shown, and indicated at 67 connect thediscs together 1 The stay rod 67 is the supportupon which the uprights 63 are secured V at their lower ends. A compressed air ponducting pipe 103 is mounted in a pairof ,castings 104 secured to and extending outwardly from the outer edges of the discs 102 One end of pipe103 is capped,v as at 105'and its other end,106 leadsto a compressed air supply, Mounted in the castings 104 are spaced rockshafts 107, 108 provided at one end with crank arms 109, 110 respectively carrying rollers 111,112 respectively which coact with -a cam mechanisrmnot shown for rocking-shaft 107 in advance of shaft 108. The other ends of shafts 107, 108 carry oppositely extending crank arms 113, 114 respectively provided with pins 115-, 116 respectively; attached to controlling springs 117, 118 anchored to one of the discs 102. .The shafts 107, 108 are rocked in" one direction against the action; of their controlling springs One of the castingslfiel hasastop 119 for arresting the return movementof crank arm 11 0.

The stayrod 67 is arranged rearwardly and in spaced alignment qwith pipe 103. Removably connected to stay rod 67 and pipe 103, is a support 120 having the top of its front formed with an upwardly directed annular extension 121.and;the bottom of itsfront. with adepending annular extension .122. tension 121 and the shaft 108 in extension 122. The sleeves 100 of locking lever 96 are loosely mounted on shaft 108. Carried by shaft 107 is a collar 123 provided with a pin 124 adapted, when,

shaft 107 is rockedin one direction toactuate valve 30 13001083113116. compressed air supply to element 1 and to openrthelatter to the atmosphere for exhaust. The shaft 108has fixed thereto a pair of collars 125, .each having one end-provided withi'a'jlateral lug 126; The lugs 126 ,are'adapted,

The shaft 107 is journaled in ex-,

tioned in the path or the rollers 111,. 112. When shafts 107,108 arerocked by the coactionfof the rollers with thecam'mechanism, it provides for the automatic cuttingoff of the compressed air supply to element 1 and-the unlocking of ele manta? whatl claim is:-

1. A sole levelingfshaping andsecuring unit comprising a-compressed air operatedpresser element, a valve movable to admit air under pressure to and to vent said elementjneans for clamping a shoe on said; presserelement said lastmentioned means including a'releas able locking means shiftable to an off centenpositionfor maintaining said clamping means iniclamping position, and separate means forming. lost motion connections with said valve and'with said-releasable ineansrespectively for imoving said valve to venting position and for moving said releasable locking means to a position'to release said clamping means.

2. A sole leveling, shaping and securing ,unit comprising a support,- acompressed airoperated presser element mounted on saidfsupport avalve adjacent said support and movable to admit air under pressure to and to vent said element, means mounted on said support and extending above said presser element for clampingfa' shoe on said presser element, means normally urging said clamping means to unclampecl position,ja' locking lever fulcrumed 'on said support, a link pivoted to said lever at a point spaced from said fulcrum,,said link having an offset intermediate'portion whereby its lower end mayi be swung'downwardly past the fulcrum of said lever to lock said clamping; means in clamping position, and .separate' means on said support movable to ,shift said valve. to venting position and to shiftsaid locking leveripast its fulcrum to releasesaidclamping means.

e GEORGE-LAGANAS.- 

